Manipulation of pH-Sensitive interactions between podophyllotoxin-chitosan for enhanced controlled drug release

Podophyllotoxin (PPT) offers a broad-spectrum of anticancer activities, but little has been reported for its controlled release. This work shows that by manipulating molecular interactions between PPT and Chitosan, efficient nanoscale capsulation of PPT can be realized. The drug encapsulation efficiency is as high as 52%, with a final particle drug loading in the order of 10% (wt/wt). It further demonstrates that changes in pH can also significantly affect the rate of drug release from the Chitosan nanoparticles. Upon contact with cancer cells, chitosan nanoparticles enable efficient internalization and drug release. In vitro evaluations with HepG-2 and MCF-7 cells indicate that the chitosan nanoparticle carriers can improve drug efficacy in comparison to free PPT, most likely by regulating the intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathway to induce apoptosis. Overall, PPT chitosan nanoparticles promise a safe and efficient drug delivery system for PPT.

Detailed comparison of bacterial communities during seasonal sludge bulking in a municipal wastewater treatment plant

In this study, pyrosequencing combined with clone library analysis, qPCR, and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed to identify detailed changes of bacterial and filamentous bacterial communities in activated sludge (AS) in 3 types of typical AS samples: sludge bulking (B-AS), excessive bulking (EB-AS), and non-bulking (N-AS). Sludge bulking resulted in a decrease in total bacterial numbers from (6.4 ± 0.18) × 10⁸ gene copies/mL in N-AS to (2.4 ± 0.22) × 10⁸ in EB-AS and a decrease in bacterial diversity from 2757 OTUs in N-AS to 2217 OTUs in EB-AS. With the occurrence of sludge bulking, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes increased sharply, whereas Proteobacteria, which was the predominant phylum in N-AS, decreased markedly. In addition, Nitrospirae, a major lineage of the nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, had quite a low abundance in EB-AS (0.15%), while it was relatively high in N-AS (1.17%). On the other hand, filamentous bacteria accounted for 28.77% and 5.72% of total sequences in EB-AS and N-AS, respectively. More interestingly, 11 types of filamentous bacteria were always present in 3 types of typical AS samples from different stages of sludge bulking, and most of them enriched in EB-AS compared to N-AS. It is noteworthy that, in addition to the frequently reported filamentous bacteria such as Candidatus M. parvicella and Tetrasphaera, novel filamentous species of Trichococcus might exist in this bulking WWTP. Our results reveal that sludge bulking are derived from diverse taxa, which expands previous understanding and provides new insight into the underlying complications of the bulking phenomenon in AS.

Design, synthesis and anti-HIV-1 RT evaluation of 2-(benzyl(4-chlorophenyl)amino)-1-(piperazin-1-yl)ethanone derivatives

In this study, using molecular hybridization approach, fourteen novel 2-(benzyl(4-chlorophenyl)amino)-1-(piperazin-1-yl)ethanone derivatives (7a-n) were designed as inhibitor of HIV-1 RT. The binding affinity of the designed compounds with HIV-1 RT as well as their drug-likeness behavior was predicted using in-silico studies. All the designed compounds were synthesized, characterized and in-vitro evaluated for HIV-1 RT inhibitory activity, in which tested compounds displayed significant to weak potency against the selected target. Moreover, best active compounds of the series, 7k and 7m inhibited the activity of RT with IC₅₀ values 14.18 and 12.26μM respectively. Structure Activity Relationship (SAR) studies were also performed in order to predict the influence of substitution pattern on the RT inhibitory potency. Anti-HIV-1 and cytotoxicity studies of best five RT inhibitor (7a, 7d, 7k, 7L and 7m) revealed that, except compound 7d other compounds retained significant anti-HIV-1 potency with good safety index. Best scoring pose of compound 7m was analysed in order to predict its putative binding mode with wild HIV-1 RT.

The Drosophila F-box protein Slimb controls dSmurf protein turnover to regulate the Hippo pathway

SMAD ubiquitination regulatory factors 1 and 2 (Smurf1/2) are members of the HECT domain E3 ligase family which play crucial roles in the regulation of cell cycle progression, planar cell polarity, cancer metastasis and cell apoptosis. We recently showed that the Drosophila homolog dSmurf controls the stability of Warts kinase to regulate the Hippo pathway. In the current study, we found that the F-box protein Slimb controls dSmurf protein level to regulate the Hippo pathway. Slimb physically associates with dSmurf as revealed by co-immunoprecipitation assay in S2 cells. The C-terminal WD40 repeats of Slimb (188-510 amino acid) and the C-terminal HECT domain of dSmurf (723-1061 amino acid) are necessary for their binding. Interaction with Slimb leads to the ubiquitination and degradation of dSmurf, resulting in negative regulation of dSmurf-mediated Yki phosphorylation and activity in the Hippo pathway. Thus our study revealed a new regulatory mechanism of the Hippo pathway which may provide implications for developing tumor treatment.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of benzophenone derivatives as potential HIV-1 inhibitors

BACKGROUND

Although a number of agents can achieve high response in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients, safer and more active HIV inhibitors are still needed for the growing number of patients infected with resistant HIV virus strains. GW678248, is one of the most potent benzophenone derivatives, exhibiting high potency against a panel of HIV-1 virus (wild-type, K103N mutant, Y181C, etc.) at 1 nM/L concentrations. However, the safety issues associated with rash and liver metabolic enzymes ultimately led to discontinue its further development. As a continuation of our structural modifications on this template, in this manuscript, a new series of benzophenones are described as potential HIV inhibitors.

METHODS

All the title molecules were synthesized according to the routes in scheme 1 and scheme 2, and were tested for anti-HIV-1 activity using the MTT method. In the molecular simulation, the docking program of AutoDock 4.0.1 in parallel with the default parameters were used.

RESULTS

A series of novel benzophenone derivatives (BPs) with nanomolar anti-HIV-1 activity was identified. Of these inhibitors, analogue 10i (EC50 = 2.9 nmol/L), the most active inhibitor, was comparable to the lead compound in inhibiting the wild-type HIV-1 virus. Additionally, analogue 13b, which not only exhibited strong inhibitory activity against the HIV-1 virus (EC50 = 4.2 nmol/L), but also has very low cytotoxicity with a TI value of more than 219178.1 was also discovered.

CONCLUSION

This study led to the identification of a series of benzophenone derivatives with nanomolar level of anti-HIV-1 activity. Analogue 10i and analogue 13b, with low cytotoxicity along with high activity are worthy of further development.

A proteomic analysis of acute leukemia cells treated with 9-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid

BACKGROUND

9s-hydroxy-octadecadienoic acid (9S-HOD), one of the natural products of linoleic acid oxygenation by 15-lipoxygenase (15-LOX), has been found to have anti-tumor properties in vitro and in vivo. The present study therefore investigated whether 9S-HOD affects acute leukemia HL-60 cells.

METHODS

The cytotoxicity of 9S-HOD in HL-60 with or without the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in the culture media was tested using cell viability assays and flow cytometry. To explore the mechanism of its anti-tumor activity by 9S-HOD, we used a proteomic analysis to identify HL-60 cells protein profiles, based on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS) identification.

RESULTS

9S-HOD exerted cytotoxicity efficacy and induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells, and the cytotoxicity was largely attenuated by the presence of FBS in culture media. The proteomic results revealed that 9S-HOD remarkably altered the abundance of 23 proteins that were involved in mRNA metabolic process, protein binding, DNA replication and apoptosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicated that 9S-HOD exerts cytotoxicity in HL-60 cells by affecting several pathways.

Heat shock factor 2 is associated with the occurrence of lung cancer by enhancing the expression of heat shock proteins

Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly lung cancer. Heat shock proteins and their upstream heat shock factors are involved in the occurrence of cancer and have been widely researched. However, the role of heat shock factor 2 (HSF2) in lung cancer remains unclear. In the present study, expression levels of HSF2 in lung cancer tissues from 50 lung cancer patients were detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and 76% (38/50) were upregulated compared with the matched normal tissues. This suggested possible involvement of HSF2 in lung cancer. To additionally investigate the role of HSF2 in lung cancer occurrence, a plasmid encoding HSF2 was constructed. HSF2 was over expressed in normal lung epithelial BEAS-2B cells and lung cancer A549 cells. The results showed that HSF2 overexpression promoted cell proliferation and cell migration in BEAS-2B and A549 cells. Additional experiments showed that the HSF2-induced cell proliferation and cell migration were dependent on induction of HSPs, particularly HSP27 and HSP90, as co-transfection of HSP27 small interfering RNA (siRNA) or HSP90 siRNA attenuated HSF2-induced cell growth and migration. In conclusion, the present study showed that HSF2 is aberrantly expressed in lung cancer, and it may be an upstream regulator of HSPs, which may strongly affect cell growth and cell migration. Additional studies are required to explain the detailed mechanism between lung cancer, HSF2, HSPs and other possible signaling pathways.

Clinical feasibility of a new method to identify chronotropic incompetence in heart failure patients

Heart failure patients have a high incidence of chronotropic incompetence (CI) that receives less clinical attention. This study assessed a method using wearable devices to identify CI in heart failure patients. Twenty-six heart failure patients (LVEF: 43.9  ±  5.7% with LVEF  ⩾40% in 19 patients; age: 52.8  ±  12.4 years, female patients  =  6) were enrolled. Each patient underwent symptom-limited treadmill maximal exercise testing during which the simultaneous recording of ECG Holter and physical activity using Actigraph was conducted. The APMHR ratio, the maximal heart rate during peak exercise over the age-predicted maximal heart rate (APMHR, 220-age), was determined. CI was diagnosed in patients who failed to reach at least 0.70 APMHR ratio. Holter-Actigraph recording was also applied during a 6 min hall walk (6MHW) and for 24 h to validate the method to assess impaired chronotropic response. Based on the reports of exercise testing in 26 patients, 13 patients (50%) failed to reach at least 0.70 APMHR ratio while the remaining 13 patients achieved  ⩾0.70 APMHR ratio. The APMHR ratio measured by Holter-Actigraph recording was significantly correlated with the APMHR ratio based on exercise test reports (R  =  0.99, P  <  0.001). The cut-off values of APMHR ratio (0.65) measured during 6MHW, APMHR ratio (0.69) measured during daily activities, and maximum Δ heart rate (37.8 bpm) measured during daily activities significantly predicted the results of exercise test reports with an area under the ROC curve of 0.7337, 0.7544 and 0.7870, respectively (all P values  <  0.05). This pilot study found that the wearable device can potentially help in the identification of chronotropic incompetence in heart failure patients.

Hydrogel fibers encapsulating human stem cells in an injectable calcium phosphate scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) are exciting cell sources for use in regenerative medicine. There have been no reports on long hydrogel fibers encapsulating stem cells inside an injectable calcium phosphate cement (CPC) scaffold for bone tissue engineering. The objectives of this study were: (1) to develop a novel injectable CPC construct containing hydrogel fibers encapsulating cells for bone engineering, and (2) to investigate and compare cell viability, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of hiPSC-MSCs, hESC-MSCs and hUCMSCs in injectable CPC. The pastes encapsulating the stem cells were fully injectable under a small injection force, and the injection did not harm the cells, compared with non-injected cells (p  >  0.1). The mechanical properties of the stem cell-CPC construct were much better than those of previous injectable polymers and hydrogels for cell delivery. The hiPSC-MSCs, hESC-MSCs and hUCMSCs in hydrogel fibers in CPC had excellent proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. All three cell types yielded high alkaline phosphatase, runt-related transcription factor, collagen I and osteocalcin expression (mean  ±  SD; n  =  6). Cell-synthesized minerals increased substantially with time (p  <  0.05), with no significant difference among the three types of cells (p  >  0.1). Mineralization by hiPSC-MSCs, hESC-MSCs and hUCMSCs in CPC at 14 d was 13-fold that at 1 d. In conclusion, all three types of cells (hiPSC-MSCs, hESC-MSCs and hUCMSCs) in a CPC scaffold showed high potential for bone tissue engineering, and the novel injectable CPC construct with cell-encapsulating hydrogel fibers is promising for enhancing bone regeneration in dental, craniofacial and orthopedic applications.

HPV genotype analysis for women in Shaanxi Province of China

The aim of this study was to examine the subtype distribution of human papilloma virus (HPV) in women in the Shaanxi Province of China. A DNA chip, along with polymerase chain reaction amplification and reverse dot blot technology, was adopted to analyze the HPV genotypes of 22,937 cases of cervical cell specimens. The HPV infection rate was 18.70%, wherein high-risk, low-risk, and high- and low-risk multiple infection rates were 15.75, 2.96 and 1.91%, respectively. High-risk infections accounted for 84.20% of total infections. The rate of HPV infection in women with rural residence, high school education or less, a low income, or age over 40 years was significantly higher than that in the control group (negative HPV infection women). Of the 18 detected high-risk HPV subtypes, the most common in single infections were, in the order of prevalence, HPV16, 58, 18, 52, 33, and 56. For multiple high-risk infections, the most common subtypes in the order of prevalence were HPV16, 52, 58, 18, 56, and 33. Age was a factor in the rate of infection, as the 41-50-year age group had a significantly higher risk of infection than the other groups (P < 0.05). In multiple infections, double infections were common, accounting for 77.10% of multiple infections, and triple or more infections were more common in women aged 51-60 years. In Shaanxi Province, high-risk HPV infection in women was mainly attributed to rural residence, age over 40 years, low income, and low education level.

An Entropy-Based Position Projection Algorithm for Motif Discovery

Motif discovery problem is crucial for understanding the structure and function of gene expression. Over the past decades, many attempts using consensus and probability training model for motif finding are successful. However, the most existing motif discovery algorithms are still time-consuming or easily trapped in a local optimum. To overcome these shortcomings, in this paper, we propose an entropy-based position projection algorithm, called EPP, which designs a projection process to divide the dataset and explores the best local optimal solution. The experimental results on real DNA sequences, Tompa data, and ChIP-seq data show that EPP is advantageous in dealing with the motif discovery problem and outperforms current widely used algorithms.

Halofuginone inhibits radiotherapy-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung cancer

Radiotherapy is used to treat many different human tumors. Paradoxically, radiation can activate TGF-β1 signaling and induce the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is associated with enhanced tumor progression. This study investigated the inhibitory effects of halofuginone, a plant-derived alkaloid that has been shown to inhibit TGF-β1 signaling, on radiation-induced EMT and explored the underlying mechanisms using a Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) xenograft model. The cells and animals were divided into five treatment groups: Normal Control (NC), Halofuginone alone (HF), Radiotherapy alone (RT), Radiotherapy combined with Halofuginone (RT+HF), and Radiotherapy combined with the TGF-β1 inhibitor SB431542 (RT+SB). Radiation induced EMT in lung cancer cells and xenografts, as evidenced by increased expression of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and Vimentin, and reduced expression of the epithelial markers E-cadherin and Cytokeratin. Further, radiotherapy treatment increased the migration and invasion of LLC cells. Halofuginone reversed the EMT induced by radiotherapy in vitro and in vivo, and inhibited the migration and invasion of LLC cells. In addition, TGF-β1/Smad signaling was activated by radiotherapy and the mRNA expression of Twist and Snail was elevated; this effect was reversed by halofuginone or the TGF-β1 inhibitor SB431542. Our results demonstrate that halofuginone inhibits radiation-induced EMT, and suggest that suppression of TGF-β1 signaling may be responsible for this effect.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with low-grade albuminuria in Chinese adults (change not displayed)

BACKGROUND

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was associated with higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Low-grade albuminuria was recognized as an early indicator of CVD. Epidemiological studies investigating the association between NAFLD and low-grade albuminuria were limited.

AIM

To determine whether NAFLD is independently associated with the presence of low-grade albuminuria in Chinese adults.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional community-based population study was performed in 8270 Chinese adults aged 40 years or older.

METHODS

A first-voided early morning spot urine sample was obtained for urinary albumin and creatinine measurements. The highest quartile of urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio was defined as low-grade albuminuria, after excluding the participants with micro- or macroalbuminuria. NAFLD was diagnosed by using ultrasonography findings after the exclusion of alcohol abuse and other liver diseases.

RESULTS

The prevalence of low-grade albuminuria was significantly higher in participants with NAFLD than in those without NAFLD (33.6% vs. 21.3% in men and 30.4% vs. 22.8% in women, respectively). Multivariate-adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that NAFLD was significantly associated with increased odds ratio of low-grade albuminuria in men (odds ratio, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.16-1.87) after adjusting for multiple confounders. The significant association was not detected in women.

CONCLUSIONS

NAFLD was significantly associated with an increased risk of present low-grade albuminuria in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men.

Partial splenic embolization has beneficial effects for the management of gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Partial splenic embolization (PSE) is used in the management of gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage (GEVH). However, it is uncertain whether it has beneficial effects for GEVH patients in preventing variceal recurrence and variceal hemorrhage, as well as promoting overall survival (OS), when it is combined with conventional therapies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Google scholar, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched up to 11th of November, 2015. Meta-analyses were performed by using Review Manager 5.3 software for analyzing the risk of bias, Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for assessing the bias of cohort studies, and GRADEprofiler software for assessing outcomes obtained from the meta-analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 1505 articles were reviewed, and 1 randomized controlled trial and 5 cohort studies with 244 participants were eligible for inclusion. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) of variceal recurrence is 0.50 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37, 0.68; P< 0.00001; I2 = 0%). The pooled HR of variceal hemorrhage is 0.24 (95% CI 0.15, 0.39; P< 0.00001; I2 = 0%). The pooled HR of OS is 0.50 (95% CI 0.33, 0.67; P< 0.00001; I2 = 0%). Meta-analyses demonstrated statistically significant superiority of combinational therapies over conventional therapies in preventing variceal recurrence and variceal hemorrhage and prolonging OS. The complications related to PSE were mild or moderate and nonfatal.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that PSE has beneficial effects for GEVH patients, however, future investigation with a larger number of subjects in clinical trials is warranted.

EFFECT OF COLLA CORNUS CERVI COMBINED WITH LV-MEDIATED BMP7 TRANSFECTED BMSCs ON ANFH IN RATS

In the present study, we investigated the combined effect of Colla Comus Cervi (CCC) and BMP7-overexpressing bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on osteogenic induction and the treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH). BMSCs were isolated from rats. BMP7-overexpressing BMSCs were generated by lentiviral-mediated gene transduction. Cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, osteogenesis related gene expression, osteocalcin levels, and calcified nodules were quantified and compared between four groups: untreated controls, BMSCs cultured with CCC complex medium, BMP7-overexpressing BMSCs, and BMP7-overexpressing BMSCs cultured with CCC complex medium (CCC+BMP7). CCC+BMP7 BMSCs showed higher proliferation rate. ALP activity and osteaocalcin content were significantly increased in CCC+BMP7 BMSCs. The osteogenesis related genes, COLI, and integrin-α2, -α5, and -β1, were expressed significantly higher in CCC+BMP7 BMSCs. The number of calcified nodules in the CCC+BMP7 group was significantly higher than that in other groups. For in vivo assays, ANFH was induced in rats, and BMSCs were injected into the femoral head of the lower left extremity. In rats with induced ANFH, general observation scores of the CCC+BMP7 injected group were significantly higher than the model group. X-ray and microscopic observations revealed that ANFH was significantly improved and femoral head cells gradually recovered in rats treated with CCC+BMP7 BMSCs. Our results suggest that CCC+BMP7 significantly promote the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs in vitm. CCC+BMP7 BMSCs promote the ability of repairing ANFH in rats, providing a new therapeutic paradigm for the treatment of ANFH.